Somebody That I Used To Know
by Glacia St. Cloud
Summary: Every human walks around with a certain kind of sadness. They may not wear it on their sleeves, but it's there if you look deep enough. -Taraji P. Hensen
1. Chapter 1

_You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness_  
 _Like resignation to the end, always the end_  
 _So when we found that we could not make sense_  
 _Well you said that we would still be friends_  
 _But I'll admit that I was glad it was over_

-Somebody That I Used To Know; **from Gotye**

* * *

 **Brooklyn, NY; 1935**

* * *

Bucky noticed her before she noticed him. It was late Saturday night and pouring down rain; anyone unfortunate enough to be stuck outside for whatever reason were hurrying back to their homes. The weather, for the most part, had been consistently muggy, but it hadn't rained until that Saturday. For Bucky, he had spent a better part of the day with his friend, Steve Rogers. Steve - small, skinny, sickly Steve - had gotten a really bad nasal infection, which somehow turned into a nasty head cold. Which meant that Bucky had to help take care of him. Little Steve Rogers was known in the Brooklyn neighborhood they lived in for getting very sick very often. It effected his social life immensely, since being sick so often when he was a little kept him from making proper friends. Though, no one was really going out of their way to be _nice_ to Steve. Bucky was the only person who genuinely went out of his way to befriend him. All the illnesses also effected Bucky's small friend academically. Due to many absences throughout the school year, that meant that Steve would get behind in all of his classes. If it hadn't been for his friend bringing him homework every day after school, Steve wouldn't have made it.

But in that moment, after leaving Steve's home and trying to get back to his apartment, Bucky noticed _her_. She had to be a year or two younger than him, at _least_. She seemed to be somewhat slender, but had defined curves. The woman was wearing a black, polka dotted dress that clung to her skin. Her dark, short _(probably bobbed)_ hair clung to her face and neck. Her heeled shoes were making it difficult for her to move on the slippery sidewalk. Her arms were over her head, a failing attempt to keep herself dry. But the way her body looked, the way she was dressed, what she was _doing_ , was not as important. It was the color of her skin, the way the occasional passerby would glare at her or purposefully move far away from her. The woman obviously had the skin tone of someone who was African American, only she had a lighter complexion. But it looked like she wasn't _fully_ African American. That was Bucky's guess, at least. She was doing her best to hurry down the sidewalk, and anyone who happened to be going in the same direction or in the opposite direction would do nothing to help her out. They'd give her dirty looks or walk around her with a ridiculously big amount of space between them.

That was when something stirred in Bucky. No one was willing to help her go where she needed to go, no one was willing to at least help her keep her dry. If anyone who came by would brush her off as anything less than needing help, then Bucky would be the one person to give her the assistance he believed she needed. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, right?

Quickly going over to where she was, Bucky pulled off the jacket he wore and pulled it over their heads. Naturally, she jumped in fear at that. Bucky _swore_ she jumped at _least_ five feet, a startled screech escaping her, which he found to be a bit amusing but completely understandable. Anyone in their right mind would be startled if a random stranger did what Bucky did. He had stopped to look at her, seeing her brown eyes wide with fear, her breathing labored and her arms pulled in with her hands against her chest. Her mouth was opened slightly, then she shut her mouth and pursed her lips.

"What do you want?" she asked, a clear Southern accent lacing her words. Her words were harsh, snappish. Bucky could tell she wasn't comfortable with him so close to her, and, again, he found that understandable. In the time they were living in, anyone who wasn't white - preferably a white male - would be treated as if they were less than human. It didn't take much for Bucky to wonder what kind of treatment she must have faced in her life. "What do you want from me?" she pressed, her voice harsher and louder.

"N-Nothing!" he exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm not trying to do anything, trust me. I just thought you needed some help."

With a scoff, she shook her head. "This is some kind of joke, right?" she seethed. "A trick? You trying to lead me somewhere?"

Bucky's brows furrowed. "I'm not that kind of guy," he said.

"Really?" Her eyes narrowed, her brows furrowing. "I had a friend get killed by a white guy who got her when she was alone. Lynched her right outside her home."

A dreadful feeling filled him. She thought he was there to kill her? It wasn't uncommon for white men to do something that extreme. A lot pf people thought that the eradication of anyone who wasn't white would "cleanse" the nation. For Bucky, he couldn't comprehend that kind of thinking.

"I promise you, I will not do anything like that," he assured her. "I've never thought about doing that to anyone. Please, I just wanted to help you."

The two stared at each other for a long time. She was really thinking about whether or not he was telling the truth, he could see it written all over her face.

 **-.x.x.x.-**

Ginnifer Șăineanu couldn't stop herself from being suspicious of the man. What other reason would he have to approach her, if not to hurt her? She'd seen racial violence countless times in her hometown in Mississippi. The South was _flooding_ with all kinds of racial violence, and it only seemed to get worse with each passing day. It was because of Ginnifer's parents that she and her siblings managed to get out of that environment. Being sent to the North to live with relatives had been the best course of action, something Ginnifer was grateful for, but she couldn't help but still feel hostile and cautious when it came to white people. Northerners weren't as open with their violence as Southerners, but plenty of them knew how to subtly display their distaste and resentment of any person of color. A lot knew how to openly express their displeasure of having anyone who wasn't white living in the same city as them. That was why it was common for the white people to live in better neighborhoods and have access to better things, while everyone else was sent to live in slums.

Ginnifer was very aware of how people would go to extreme measures in order to get a sense of comfort. Sending people of color away to live in slums, where they wouldn't have the same kinds of access to things as white people, gave a sense of comfort to everyone who _didn't_ have to live there. As long as the separation was intact, then things could go about "normally". The only reason Ginnifer found herself in a predominantly white part of Brooklyn was because she had to make a trip to a grocery store that sold medicine her cousin needed. That was the _only_ reason Ginnifer Șăineanu was in that area.* Unfortunately, the store she went to either didn't have the medicine her cousin needed, or the pharmacist was refusing to sell it to her. Either way, Ginnifer knew she had to get back home, especially when the weather started getting bad.

But here was this guy, coming up to Ginnifer on her way home, claiming that he wanted to help her, that he wasn't going to hurt her. Was she going to believe him? Absolutely not. That was her immediate reaction. But he sounded so genuine, which was kind of making Ginnifer's immediate response to him falter a little. She had to figure her feelings out quickly, if she planned on getting home soon.

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **Sorry for the wait on this chapter! Really, I'm so, so sorry. I was sidetracked by work and school, so I completely forgot about this for a moment. I'll completely understand if this chapter isn't the best, honestly I'm not really liking it either. If you've got constructive criticism, don't hesitate to let me know.**

 **MCU does not belong to me. I own my OCs and the subplots I put in.**

 **When it comes to flashbacks, they won't be in a linear order. So if you feel as if they're a bit scattered, that's the plan.**

 **Like I said before, constructive criticism where it's necessary.**

 **Thanks a bunch.**

 **Glacia St. Cloud**


	2. Chapter 2

_Listen, Morty, I hate to break it to you but what people call "love" is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. It hits hard, Morty, then it slowly fades, leaving you stranded in a failing marriage. I did it. Your parents are gonna do it. Break the cycle, Morty. Rise above._

-Rick Sanchez; **from Rick and Morty (2014)**

* * *

 **Brooklyn, NY; 1934**

* * *

Aurelia Șăineanu had barely been twenty when she immigrated to America. The day she decided to leave her home in Romania, to find a supposed better life in a different country, set about differences in beliefs with her parents. Aurelia's parents, Natalia and Virgil, thought she should stay with her family, that she wouldn't be able to find anything better in America. That would lead to a lot of arguing, which led to a strain in their relationship. So when the day came around for Aurelia to leave, she didn't say goodbye to her parents. She didn't even acknowledge them.

The dream to come to America had been one of Aurelia's earliest ones. She believed that if she could start a new life there, she'd be able to fulfill an emptiness she had always felt. Growing up in a small Romanian village, to Jewish parents who were ostracized by the villagers, meant that Aurelia's family didn't have much growing up. It led to a lot of difficulties, a lot of fighting, and a lot of days and nights wondering what could possibly go wrong next? To make matters even more stressful, Natalia and Virgil had to worry about taking care of their elderly parents on top of taking care of their children. It was hard, and that usually meant that Aurelia, who was the eldest out of her three siblings, had to step up and do whatever tasks her parents couldn't do during the day. If Natalia didn't have time to do any cooking, Aurelia had to throw something together; if either of Aurelia's grandparents got sick and her parents didn't have time to tend to them, that usually meant she had to take care of them. Make sure her younger siblings were bathed and fed; make sure her grandparents were fed, bathed, and medicated; make sure the house was as clean as physically possible - the list could go on.

It was because of all that that Aurelia desired to leave. As much as she loved her family, she couldn't take much more of it.

So, at nineteen, just a week shy of her twentieth birthday, Aurelia Șăineanu moved to America, settling down in Mississippi. That was when she realized just how wrong she was about her new home. When news came around that a young Jewish immigrant was settling into the small town of Starkville, there was an uproar with a good many people. Those who were fond of the town staying primarily in the white Christian majority would insult Aurelia, though she didn't understand what they were saying. But that didn't mean she wasn't terrified. She'd see white men screaming at her, shouting out words she didn't know or understand. Sometimes they'd follow her home, and she'd have to pray they didn't break in. Aurelia was already being targeted, and she hadn't had time to settle in. As the months went by, the confrontations came to an end, but there would be the occasional glare or someone muttering something under their breath. Aurelia learned to keep to herself, not to bother others, though she still couldn't speak a word of English. That was when she met Bill Lexington, a young African American man. Bill worked in the area, and he had taken a liking to Aurelia early on. While it wasn't common for African Americans to have any form of proper education in the South, Bill had a decent enough education to at least help Aurelia out.

Soon enough, after countless months, Aurelia was able to speak decent - albeit broken - English and could partially read English papers and books. Aurelia had expressed her gratitude for Bill's patience and kindness, and it wasn't long after that the two fell in love. Bill had told her on multiple occasions how a relationship like theirs was seen as illegal, but Aurelia didn't care. She had already been isolated by the other townspeople for her heritage, what did it matter that she was seeing a person of color? The pair decided to keep their relationship a secret, and it went well until the day Aurelia fell pregnant. She and Bill were trying their best to discuss what to do, and it was a difficult decision. Aurelia wanted to keep the baby, but Bill was trying to figure out ways to give the baby up for adoption. Mixed-race children in the South were treated just as badly as people of color, and he didn't want that for his child. Eventually, Aurelia gave birth to a son she'd name Luca. She and Bill were still on disagreeing terms on what to do, and that led to neither of them talking for almost a year after Luca's birth. The pair reconciled and not long after Luca's first birthday, Aurelia was pregnant again, giving birth to a daughter named Livia.* Aurelia had given her two eldest children her last name, telling Bill that anyone who was wondering about the father wouldn't be able to trace it back to him.

Bill, on the other hand, was concerned considering his two children did have some of his features, and he was relatively known in Starkville. Luca and Livia both came off as though they _could_ be African American, but their complexion was lighter in comparison to their father's. Luca had more of his father's features, though Livia had a mixture of her mother's and father's characteristics. Aurelia became worried then. If the townspeople discovered that her children's father was Bill, then God only knows what would happen next. She had been staying at Bill's for a majority of the kids' lives, so the townspeople didn't really get to see them, but that didn't mean they wouldn't come down from time to time. If they saw her down there, living with an African American man plus their two young children, it would lead to a lot of trouble.

It wasn't until two years after Livia was born that Aurelia gave birth to twins, Ginnifer and Silvia. A year after that, Aurelia gave birth to her fifth and final child, a son named David. At that point, after five children, Bill and Aurelia came to the conclusion that living together in his home would be the best thing they could do. Aurelia would take care of the children while he was away at work, doing her best to keep her five children safe. The people in Bill's community were a bit hesitant of Aurelia, and she came to understand why - Starkville's white community were even more violent and abusive to the town's African American population. It caused a great deal of pain in her, knowing that so many innocent people could be treated so poorly because of their background. All Aurelia wanted was for everyone to live peacefully, to have the opportunity to be civil towards each other. To her, it felt like she wasn't asking for much, but to everyone else, it seemed nearly impossible to pull off. So the best thing that could be done would be to teach her children to be tolerant.

 **-.x.x.x.-**

Ginnifer Șăineanu knew the relationship between her parents had been, essentially, illegal in Mississippi. Or anywhere else in the South. While interracial relationships weren't exactly common or accepted in the North, either, she knew that they wouldn't be met with the same level of violence as it would be in the South. Ginnifer knew her parents did love each other, but the strain of having to keep their relationship a secret, of doing everything in their power to protect their children, was steadily chipping away at their relationship. It was chipping away at the family's limited stability. It was hard, having to grow up in Mississippi, knowing that at any moment someone could come down and destroy the little world her parents had built for their family. Aurelia did her best to be a good mother; Bill did everything he could to be a supportive father. Ginnifer and her siblings had the love and support of their parents, but when things started getting really bad, Bill and Aurelia knew that their kids couldn't stay with them for much longer.

White radicals were starting to become more brazen with their crimes against people of color. They'd attack anyone without a second thought, even if that person hadn't done anything wrong. Bill and Aurelia sent their kids up North, to live with Bill's relatives. It was the only thing that could be done to keep them safe. The Șăineanu siblings were separated, being sent to different states to live with different relatives. It had been very hard for Ginnifer and Silvia to leave. With them being twins, they felt that they had a special bond, and with having to be separated, who knows what would happen? But when the day came for them all to go their own ways, it had been a tearful one at that. It took a lot of careful planning, which meant that Bill and Aurelia could only pray it went smoothly. Their children were their entire world, and they weren't sure what would happen if anything went wrong.

For Ginnifer, however, her trip to New York went relatively well. She managed to get to her cousin, Alma Lexington-Hayes, within a couple months after leaving Starkville. Whether her siblings made it to their locations was still up for debate, considering there was no way for Ginnifer to get in contact with them.

Thankfully, though, Alma was very welcoming, showing a great amount of enthusiasm at not only seeing a cousin she'd never met for the first time, but for Kendall, Alma's young daughter, to have a new playmate. Kendall's father, Leonard, had died not long after his daughter had been born, which left Alma to not only take care of a newborn by herself, but to support her daughter and to make sure a roof was over their head and they had food to eat. When news came that Ginnifer would be moving in with the small family, Alma was ecstatic. She wouldn't be scared of having her daughter being babysat by people she hardly knew while she was at work. She wouldn't feel an overwhelming sense of pressure on whether she was being a good mother or not. Ginnifer's arrival meant that Kendall could have a more familiar face keeping her company, that some of the pressures Alma faced being a single mother could be lightened. For Alma, she not only got to meet a family member she never knew, but she got to have someone to at least help her out.

Ginnifer expressed so much gratitude towards her cousin. To be out of such a hostile environment down in Mississippi and then to be welcomed with open arms by Alma and her daughter was refreshing. The people up North weren't as violent as the Southerners, but the obvious hostilities still made Ginnifer uncomfortable. Alma made sure to calm down her cousin's nerves, to make sure she felt happy and comfortable.

At fifteen years old, Ginnifer could finally take a deep breath. She could start over with Alma and Kendall, even though she missed her family dearly. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?

* * *

 **Brooklyn, NY; 1935 - One Year Later**

* * *

Ginnifer kept looking at the man beside her. She was really trying to determine whether or not he was trying to hurt her. What she told him about a friend of hers getting killed had been true. Back in Mississippi, one of Ginny's close friends, a girl named Vivienne Delaney, had been attacked by a group of radicals on her way home. When news came out of Vivienne's murder, it hit the community hard. For Bill, it hurt him just as much as it hurt Ginnifer. Bill knew Vivienne's family, he helped take care of them when they went through hard times. For Ginny, she couldn't believe just how quickly someone close to her could be taken away.

But this man...someone who claimed that he wanted to help her out of the rain, that he wasn't going to hurt her. It _had_ to be a trick, right?

Wiping some of her hair out of her face, Ginny glared up at the man. She'd have to take a chance on him.

"You so much as _touch_ me..," she threatened, wrapping her arms around herself.

"I won't," he exclaimed. "I promise."

Hunching her shoulders a little, Ginny continued to look over at the man as he hesitantly placed his jacket over their heads. Her stomach knotted up anxiously. She had to get back to Alma before her cousin started a search party. Though Ginny had to admit, Alma would have her head when she sees her with a white man.

 _Let's hope this goes by quickly,_ Ginny thought bitterly.

With that, they went on their way.

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **Sorry for the wait on this chapter, but here it is! What'd you guys think? Was it good? Was it bad? Was it meh? Leave comments on what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

 **The MCU does not belong to me. All I own are my characters and the subplots I put in.**

 **If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, don't hesitate to let me know.**

 **Hopefully you guys had a nice Halloween!**

 **Thanks.**

 **Glacia St. Cloud**


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